Arsenal vs Everton, Premier League Gameweek 33: Open Thread

Arsenal plays Everton in a Premier League match that has important consequences for both teams. With Arsenal sitting in third place, the Gunners have a massive opportunity to close the gap with second place Manchester City as well as to forge ahead of fourth place Chelsea who are currently one point behind Arsenal.

Sixth place Everton, meanwhile, have a chance to catch up with Tottenham Hotspur, who sit three points ahead of the Toffees.

For viewers in the United States, the match will be shown live on FOX Soccer beginning at 2:45pm ET.

Before, during or after today’s Premier League match, post your rants, raves, questions or observations in the comments section below.

About The Author

Publisher of World Soccer Talk, Christopher Harris founded the site in 2005. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Guardian and several other publications. Plus he has made appearances on NPR, BBC World, CBC, BBC Five Live, talkSPORT and beIN SPORT.
Harris, who was born and raised in Wales, has lived in Florida since 1984, and supported Swansea City since 1979. Last but not least, he got engaged during half-time of a MLS game.

I have also noticed that a certain team, which shall not be mentioned have been promoted up from the Championship. Just how big is the South Wales Derby compared to other derbies around Britain. Also what if any rivalry do the actual cities of Swansea and Cardiff have?

Swansea-Cardiff is one of the biggest rivalries in the Football League (and next season, the Premier League). The supporters of each club despite each other. Whenever the teams play each other, there is a huge police presence so there’s very little chance of violence. But without a heavy police presence, all hell would break loose.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales, while Swansea is a much smaller city, so there’s always the belief that Cardiff gets special treatment over Swansea and other cities in Wales. When I was growing up in Wales, there was a big rivalry between Cardiff and Swansea rugby clubs, but for me the football derby has and will always be the biggest difference between both cities.